EAC/DRC: Regional force starts rupturing, will it survive following the resignation of its commander?
By
Edward Nyembo
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Posted on
April 28, 2023 14:55
Major General Jeff Nyagah of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), meets his soldiers as the Kenyan troops to the East Africa Community Regional Force (EACRF) in Goma, North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo November 16, 2022. (REUTERS/Arlette Bashizi)
The resignation of the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) Major General Jeff Nyagah has created a major stumbling block in the forces’ half-year lifespan. And startling details about intimidation in his resignation letter are an indication that the force is operating in a hostile environment. Will the force survive?
Nyagah, a Kenyan, was appointed commander of the regional force deployed in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by the East African Community to pacify the region in September last year.
Deputised by Brig. Gen. Emma Kaputa from the DRC’s Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), Nyagah was at the centre of making pre-deployment arrangements such as setting up the force’s headquarters in Goma, the main city in the eastern DRC.
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